Hannah Hermansen
Hannah Marie Hermansen (b. 3891) is a Kazulian politician who has served as Minister of Education and Culture and currently leads Frisinnede Venstre. Life Hermansen grew up in Raud (Agatha Fylke). Her parents owned a local publishing house and were relatively well-off, although not excessively wealthy. She completed high school in 3909 and took a gap year afterwards in which she worked in her parents' company as a junior manager. Afterwards, she took up studies in communication science and business administration, graduating with a Bachelor degree in 3914. In 3915, she received a teacher's certificate and taught evening classes at the Raud community college between 3915 and 3917. At the same time, she became involved with the local branch of Frisinnede Venstre, for which she had been elected to the municipal council in 3914. In 3915, Hermansen spent the summer months as an intern at the constituency office of Cecilia Hoyland, who was then the Minister of Health and Social Services. Politics When she was an intern for Hoyland, the Minister recommended her to Finance Minister, Leya Nordahl, who was in charge of FV's research department. Through Nordahl's intervention, she became involved with developing FV's education policy between 3916 and 3918, helping to shape the party's stances in that area. Although she was not against privatization of education, she was seen as a rather moderating influence in the policy team. In 3918, she was chosen as a direct candidate for a Storting seat in her home town of Raud. Although she was only 27 and mostly unknown back then, a nationally good election for FV propelled her to victory, despite facing a strong conservative rival who appealed to a similar constituency. As a Storting member, she spent the first four years in opposition as the 3918 early election sent FV to opposition. However, during these years, she served as an effective education spokeswoman for the party and was chosen as Minister of Education and Culture when FV returned to government in 3923. Due to a series of unexpected events, her tenure was cut short and she failed to implement her main goals - less regulation for private universities and the legalization of for-profit schools. After the 3924 election, FV was excluded from government after lengthy negotiations, having also suffered heavy losses in the election. Hermansen was elected as party leader to succeed Erwin Schausberger after having promised a more moderate course that would abandon some of the hard-right stances pushed by her predecessor, even though she denied that she was a social liberal. She led FV throughout the next four years in opposition and was noted for her polite and constructive demeanor, a sharp contrast from her predecessor's style. Despite her centrism, she was sharply critical of the left-wing government's flagship policy, the abolition of university fees, which she described as unfair to the taxpayers. This earned her applause even from the more right-wing FV members who had previously suspected her to be a progressive in disguise. In the 3928 election, the first under her leadership, FV gained 5% in terms of popular vote and became the second-largest party, overtaking the governing Progressive Alliance. FV also regained the absolute majority in its heartland of Hent. However, on the other hand, FV lost Hermansen's home Fylke, Agatha, to the conservatives, which was seen as a result of her abandonment of conservative policies. Overall, the party only gained two seats, after having lost 15 in 3924. Thus, the results were seen as a mixed outcome for the liberals and were called only the first step towards a comprehensive recovery by Hermansen. Category:Kazulian politicians